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A deadly new nuclear age
18:57

A deadly new nuclear age

In this video Hindol Sengupta explains how the world has entered a new, highly dangerous nuclear competition age characterized by escalating arsenals, eroding safeguards, and heightened geopolitical tensions. This shift from Cold War-era stability is driven by multiple interconnected factors: Multipolar nuclear rivalry: China has joined the U.S. and Russia as a peer nuclear power, creating a complex three-way competition. Unlike the Cold War's bipolar dynamic, this multipolarity increases unpredictability and escalation risks. Arms control collapse: Key treaties (e.g., New START) have expired or been suspended without replacement, eliminating transparency and mutual constraints. Russia withdrew from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, while China rapidly expands its arsenal without oversight. Lowered nuclear thresholds: Russia explicitly threatens nuclear use in Ukraine and stationed tactical nukes in Belarus. China is abandoning its no-first-use policy, while North Korea and Pakistan pursue more aggressive postures. Unchecked proliferation: Nuclear aspirants like Iran near weapons capability, while U.S. allies (e.g., South Korea, Saudi Arabia) consider developing deterrents due to eroded trust in security guarantees. Technological destabilization: AI integration in nuclear command systems risks accidental escalation, while hypersonic missiles and space-based weapons compress decision-making timelines. Military spending surge: Global defence budgets hit $2.7 trillion in 2024, funding nuclear modernization. The U.S., Russia, and China drive this arms race, with Europe and Asia following suit. Escalating great-power tensions: U.S.-China rivalry and Russia’s Ukraine invasion have normalized nuclear threats, with leaders showing increased risk tolerance in crises. This confluence of factors—vanishing safeguards, technological hazards, and multipolar brinkmanship—has created the most perilous nuclear landscape since the Cold War. #nuclear #nuclearweapons #nuclearage #war #conflict #us #russia #china #pakistan #india #israel #iran #israeliranwar #israelpalestineconflict #indiapakistanwar #globalorder #globalaffairs #japan #southkorea #taiwan
Why Iran had to be stopped I Prof. Patrick Clawson
33:53

Why Iran had to be stopped I Prof. Patrick Clawson

Patrick Clawson is an American economist and a leading scholar on Middle Eastern affairs, particularly Iran. Clawson serves as the Director for Research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and is a senior editor of Middle East Quarterly. Clawson is widely recognised for his expertise on Iran’s political economy, nuclear ambitions, and regional strategy. He directs the Institute’s Iran Security Initiative, a flagship program focused on assessing the challenges Iran poses to U.S. and Western interests across the Middle East. His prolific output includes over 150 articles and more than eighteen books or studies, such as Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos, The Andean Cocaine Industry, and Iran Under Khatami: A Political, Economic, and Military Assessment. Clawson has been an advocate for decades for tougher action on Iran to stop its nuclear weapons programme. Now that the US has bombed Iran's most critical nuclear sites, including the most highly protected Fordow, Clawson spoke to Hindol Sengupta about what is likely to happen in the future. Clawson believes that the US and Israeli action has stalled, not stopped - Iran's quest for nuclear weapons but with many of its top personnel involved in the nuclear programme now dead, the timelines have been pushed forward considerably. He also says that the possibility of a regime change in Iran after the death of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei (86) cannot be ruled out, though it will be through the demands of Iranians themselves who are unhappy with the Islamic regime. In the conversation, Clawson and Sengupta spoke about, - why Iran had to be stopped, - why Trump tearing up Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, as imperfect as it may have been, was a mistake, - how Iran assumed that blocking its nuclear sites would make them safer, but the US bombed the sites through shafts, which did even greater damage, - why the Chinese rapid expansion of nuclear arsenal threatens the whole world, - whether Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are moving towards acquiring nuclear weapons, - concerns on Pakistan trying to acquire Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), - and why Trump is trying to end conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, to focus more on the Indo-Pacific to tackle China. Chapters : 0:00-0:33 Opening 0:58-2:56 Why Iran had to be stopped 3:24-4:51 What did the strike on Iran achieve? 5:20-7:45 Why tearing up the Iran deal was a historic mistake 8:17-10:15 Can Iran be stopped the way Iraq was? 10:51-12:32 What really happened at Fordow? 13:15-16:10 A regime under pressure: is Iran near collapse? 17:16-18:40 What’s really going on between Iran and Pakistan? 19:29-20:50 Is the Sinosphere really reliable? 21:46-22:59 Are we entering a new nuclear age? 23:41-24:39 South Korea, Japan and the question of self-deterrence 25:13-25:46 Should India rethink its nuclear doctrine? 26:30-28:02 Is there still hope to stop nuclear proliferation before it’s too late? 28:55-30:21 Gaza, Netanyahu and the question of lasting peace in the Middle East 31:05-33:25 Is the Indo-Pacific still a priority? 33:28-33:53 Closing #news #iran #israel #iranisraelwar #iranvsisrael #interview #globalorder #foreignaffairs
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